Chapter 669: Chapter 476: Good News, Bad News Chapter 669: Chapter 476: Good News, Bad News The starting lineups took the court, and Kevin Love was positioned at the center position for the Miami Heat, which made Yu Fei couldn’t help but chuckle.

Purely speaking, Pat Riley had always been the aggressive game changer, and even if he wasn’t on the frontline, he was able to remotely control Spoelstra to play the game according to his vision.

The logic behind putting Love at the center position was simple: Riley clearly saw that the answer to the small-ball era was speed and three-pointers.

Therefore, the center position didn’t necessarily have to be filled by a traditional seven-footer–if one was available, of course that was best, but if not, then a power forward could take the center spot.

As a center, Love’s skill set was only up to par in terms of rebounding protection.

During the jump ball, Kwame Brown won easily.

Roy quickly advanced the ball to the frontcourt and passed it to Brown on a lob.

The pass was good, but Brown was not the right man.

After catching the ball, Brown’s finish was weak and feeble, his challenge to Love’s defense ended in failure.

Miami Heat’s defensive counterattack was swift.

Wade grabbed the rebound, Curry and Ariza quickly broke to each side.

Yu Fei quickly fell back, letting go of Ariza while confronting Curry, with Durant marking Wade.

Just when the SuperSonics thought Wade would pass to an open Ariza, Durant’s defense was torn apart in one move.

In an instant, Wade, without slowing down, changed direction with the dribble and thundered into the basket for a slam dunk.

0 to 2
Brown’s face showed shame.

“Can you imagine DJ missing underneath with that guy’s defense?” Yu Fei asked indifferently.

Unable to imagine such a scenario, Brown replied honestly.

“So you screwed up.”

Brown had nothing to say in response, and then Little O set a pick and then popped out to the high post, Roy created chaos and then passed back to Yu Fei.

Miami Heat chose Yu Fei’s former sidekick Ariza to match up with him.

For Ariza, this was a big challenge.

In his memory, his defense had never been effective against Yu Fei.

When Yu Fei got the ball, SuperSonics’ tactics were in disarray; now it was down to one-on-one play. Yu Fei dribbled and changed direction, not widely, but with such speed that it gave an extraordinary rhythm to his ball-handling, as if he was a 1.8-meter guard rather than a 2.06-meter forward.

Ariza was quickly faked out, losing his defensive position, and watched helplessly as Yu Fei scored with a jump shot.

“You haven’t improved much, Trevor.”

Yu Fei said while backpedalling.

“I tried my best, Big Fei.”

Ariza was disheartened, knowing that in the entire League, there were only two or three wings that could make him feel so powerless.

2 to 2
Miami Heat’s next offensive play was initiated by Tskitishvili from the high post.

In Miami Heat’s system, he played as a power forward.

But he actually was a small forward in his time with the Magic, considered a poor man’s Yu Fei.

At a height of 208 centimeters, with decent ball-handling abilities, Bosh might have been able to keep up with him, but Little O was just a toy in front of him.

Little O’s legs had both seen serious injuries, and his mobility was already compromised. The Turkish player’s ball handling shook him, and his defense was immediately out of position.

“Useless, it still comes down to me!”

Brown cursed under his breath and instantly rushed out of the paint.

This was the most laudable aspect of Kwame Brown and also why he could stay as the starting center for Yu Fei’s team for so long.

His help defense and positioning were top-notch.

However, Tskitishvili was just waiting for this paper tiger to leave the mountain.

The Turkish player snapped the ball to Love, who then easily scored underneath the basket.

After watching this play, George Karl on the sidelines was already preparing to make a substitution.

He called Anthony Morrow from the bench, “Get ready to play shooting guard.”

Was he going to substitute Durant out less than two minutes into the game?

“I’m subbing in for KD?” Morrow wanted to confirm.

“No, you’ll be taking out Jermaine; let KD play power forward, and you play shooting guard,” Karl said, his explanation clear and straightforward.

If Tskitishvili was a pseudo power forward, then Durant would also play power forward and match up against him.

Seconds later, a two-man game at the top of the arc between Yu Fei and Roy confused the Heat.

Roy received Yu Fei’s pick-and-roll, drove past his defender, then passed back. Yu Fei caught the ball without hesitation, then returned the pass to Roy.

Roy quickly burst into the paint, scoring a 2+1 over Love.

“Frye and Brandon are like non-blood-related blood brothers!” ABC’s Doug Collins exclaimed, “Look at this cooperation – it’s done without any preparation; as soon as Brandon thinks of it, Frye completes the perfect play with him!”

On the other side, ESPN’s Jeff Van Gundy also said, “Chemistry and synergy will be key for Frye and Brandon to overcome the KJ duo.”

So, I’m not the key factor?

Durant stood not far from ESPN’s live broadcast spot, and Van Gundy’s words stirred ripples in his heart.

The world was eagerly anticipating the Christmas Eve battle of 44 versus 23 and 24.

Sure, Yu Fei could hog all the limelight by himself, but if there had to be a prime sidekick, Durant felt he was the man for the job.

Clearly, the basketball world didn’t think so.

Even though his averages had climbed to 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists per game after the team dealt with injuries–thanks to those injuries.

And then, Curry powered up.

He and Love ran a high pick and roll play, using a back cut to shake off Durant.

By the time Durant reacted, Curry had already caught the ball at a 45-degree angle on the right side and shot.

“Swish!”

This seemingly youthful veteran rookie excitedly jumped down, his Reebok signature shoes, tailored especially for him, looking like they could glow.

Two and a half minutes had passed and Durant hadn’t touched the ball yet.

He felt it was time.

The SuperSonics’ smooth ball movement that had previously included Durant now seemed to have forgotten him.

The opportunity to finish an offensive play never came his way.

This time, Fei moved to the left side, where Roy had intended to send the ball down low to Brown.

But when the ball reached Durant’s hands, he raised his hand to signal Brown to come out for a pick and roll.

“Give me the ball!”

Brown was already in position.

For a big man, there’s nothing more frustrating than fighting hard for positioning only for teammates to withhold the ball.

Durant appeared to have some misunderstanding with Brown; one wanted the ball to play, while the other called for a pick and roll.

Time waits for no one, the referee’s whistle sounded, calling a three-second violation on Brown.

“Kevin, what the hell are you doing?!” Brown roared, “I was in position! You should’ve passed me the ball!”

Pass you the ball? What could you do with it? Even my mom could defend against you.

Oh, those weren’t words Kevin Durant would say.

“My fault.” The American son took the initiative to admit his mistake. “I didn’t see your position.”

Durant admitted his mistake outright, and Brown naturally didn’t pursue the matter further.

Nor did anyone else have anything to say.

It was an inevitable communication error in a 48-minute game that anyone could make.

Only Durant knew this wasn’t any mistake; he saw Brown’s position clearly, which is why he wanted to see if Brown would give up the positioning he worked hard for to set a screen for him.

Did he really think that initiating a pick and roll play, something that came second only to Frye, was less important than his laborious effort to establish position for a comedic solo play?

Unfortunately, Brown’s actions confirmed that was indeed his way of thinking.

Falling back to the defensive half, Durant discontentedly watched as Curry approached, dribbling the ball.

He knew Curry.

The man was recently much hyped, not only as another Rising Star forcefully promoted by Reebok after Fei but also as the cornerstone of the Miami Heat’s rebuild.

In a team that had ball-handlers like Wade and Tskitishvili, Curry’s share of ball possession was second only to Wade.

That was the kind of ball possession a star of the future deserved.

Watching the limelight that Curry enjoyed, Durant couldn’t help but think that his strategic standing within the SuperSonics might be even lower than Kwame Brown’s.

Even though Brown’s ball possession, status, and value were far inferior to his, Brown had the power to refuse the pick and roll play Durant initiated.

How preposterous was that? Could a turkey, soaring with the phoenix, really consider itself a phoenix as well?

What Durant didn’t expect even more was that Curry, this rookie, would dare to ignore Wade’s tactical signals and suddenly attack him.

The opponent was too small; it was like a lightweight taking on a heavyweight.

Durant’s agility and wingspan could cause serious interference, but Curry had developed a specialized floater in college to challenge taller players.

In a split second, Curry’s floater sailed over Durant’s fingertips and scored off the backboard.

“You’re not allowed to ignore me anymore!”

Wade called out, laughing loudly.

Curry, biting his mouthguard, shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

What was he feeling so proud about?

Durant’s body temperature was rising; he felt he was in an utterly terrible world.

Kwame Brown was an idiot; if he wasn’t, he would’ve set a screen for him like a good dog;
His coach was an idiot, too, for letting him defend a small fry like Curry;
Lastly, his opponent was an idiot, getting all excited over a fluke shot?

Durant was itching for control; he didn’t want to run plays, he wanted the ball right now.

Just as he was about to loudly demand the ball, he turned to see Roy empty-handed, the ball in Fei’s possession.

Well, not getting the ball was fine, too.

Kevin Durant was a nice guy; he could tolerate a subordinate’s disrespect and endure not getting the ball for four consecutive minutes, as long as Fei was content with maintaining the status quo, he would have to accept it.

Fei didn’t do anything with the ball, and while Brown initially wanted to set a screen, Fei insisted that Brown establish position instead.

The moment that petrified Durant occurred, Fei deliberately dribbled to the frontcourt just to let Brown have a go at the low post.

Brown received the ball and scored over Love with the clumsiest, ugliest, and most unsightly strong move Durant had ever witnessed.

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He didn’t know whether he had underestimated Brown, or if Love’s defense was even more pathetic than Brown’s offense.

Brown made the shot.

He didn’t forget to yell at Durant, “You should’ve passed me the ball earlier!”

Half a minute later, Brown fouled out, Little O was subbed out, and Durant moved to power forward. The good news was that he no longer had to defend Curry.

The bad news was, defending Tskitishvili was even more exhausting than guarding Curry.